Measuring the research impact of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE

AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA – No. 01B68-21-0054

The Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has a requirement for an evaluation of their research impact, looking first at their research publications and dataset output benchmarked against other Canadian science agencies, then analyzing AAFC RDCs impacts, and studying the AAFC patent portfolio and patent citations. The purpose of this Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) is to signal the government's intention to award a contract for these services to:

Clarivate Analytics (US) LLC

1500 Spring Garden Street

Philadelphia, PA

19130

Before awarding the contract, however, the government would like to provide other suppliers with the opportunity to demonstrate that they are capable of satisfying the requirements set out in this Notice, by submitting a statement of capabilities during the 15 calendar day posting period.

If other potential suppliers submit a statement of capabilities during the 15 calendar day posting period that meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, the government will proceed to a full tendering process on either the government's electronic tendering service or through traditional means, in order to award the contract.

If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a statement of capabilities meeting the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contract will be awarded to the pre-selected supplier, as referenced above.

Project Title:

Measuring the research impact of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Background:

The Science and Technology Branch’s (STB) Senior Management has directed that a Strategic Planning exercise take place before the end of the 2021-2022 Fiscal Year. The Strategic Plan will set the priorities and provide a framework for STB’s research over the next decade. Given the priority and time frame, STB is interested in measuring the impact of their research science funding.

STB plans to use data and anaylsis from the Web of Science, Incites and Derwent Innovation database from Clarivate Analytics (“Clarivate”), for its Strategic Plan performance and planning exercise. These analyses will address what STB requires for their Strategic Plan.

Objective:

The objective of this statement of work are the following:

1. Identify and compare AAFC research with that of other federal organizations
2. Evaluate AAFC work based on research and development centres (RDCs)
3. Investigate additional impact and outreach

Scope of Work:

Clarivate will provide AAFC with an evaluation of their research impact, looking first at their research publications and dataset output benchmarked against other Canadian science agencies, then analyzing AAFC RDCs impacts, and studying the AAFC patent portfolio and patent citations.

This analysis will involve the completion of the following three tasks:

Task 1: AAFC Research Output and Impact Benchmarked Against Canadian Federal Agencies

Task 2: Analysis of AAFC RDCs

Task 3: Measuring the Research Impact of AAFC: patent portfolio analysis

Deliverables And Schedule:

For Tasks 1 and 2, the contractor will provide the following deliverables:

• Microsoft Excel file containing tabs that include the analysis tables and plots for each subtask, as well as a glossary of the key terms, and methodology description.
• A Microsoft PowerPoint report with key findings, additional context and interpretation.

For Task 3, the contractor will provide the following deliverable:

• A Microsoft PowerPoint report with a statistics and methodology appendix.
• A complete version of the project dataset supplied via a Microsoft Excel workbook, enabling manipulation of the study’s data collection, as curated and structured during the project.

Contractor to participate in regular status meetings, via teleconference or videoconference, to ensure that progress is advancing according to schedule.

Location of Work: 

No travel required. This project will be conducted remotely from Contractor offices or employee work locations.

Minimum Essential Qualifications:

To fulfill the requirements of the contract, any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it has the capacity to provide the same information that is listed above.

Government of Canada Regulations Exception:

The Treasury Board’s Government Contract Regulations, Part 10.2.1 Section 6 states there are four exceptions that permit the contracting authority to set aside the requirement to solicit bids. The exception for related to this ACAN includes:

d. “only one supplier person or firm is capable of performing the contract.”

Limited Tendering Provisions In Accordance With The Trade Agreements:

The North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement, and the Agreement on Internal Trade permit the contracting authority to set aside the requirement to solicit bids under the following condition:

b) “For works of art, reasons connected with protecting patents, copyrights, other exclusive rights, or proprietary information or where there is an absence for technical reasons, the goods or services can be supplied by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists”

Justification for the Pre-Selected Supplier:

It is not feasible to compete the requirement since Web of Science, InCites and Derwent are the only databases, exclusive to Clarivate Analytics, that include the unique metadata necessary to meet AAFC’s bibliometric needs. Moreover, there are no alternative products on the market from which the same information can be drawn. The identified provider, Clarivate Analytics, is the only one with the proprietary data assets supporting the evaluation to meet AAFC’s goals and objectives within the time frame of STB’s Strategic Planning exercise.

Contract Period:

The resulting contract will be valid from date of contract award extending to October 31, 2021.

Estimate of Costs:

It is intended to award a service contract to the supplier for an amount of $86,300.00 US plus applicable taxes.

Project Authority:

Ken Nakagawa

Senior Science Policy Analyst

Science and Technology Branch

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

1341 Baseline Road

Ottawa, ON K1A 0C5

ken.nakagawa@agr.gc.ca

Contracting Authority:

Rhonda DiMarco

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Professional Services Contracting Unit

1341 Baseline Road, Tower 5, Floor 2,

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C5

Tel: (613) 773-0934

Email: rhonda.dimarco@agr.gc.ca 

Suppliers Right to Submit a Statement of Capabilities:

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to meet the specified requirements, may submit a Statement of Capabilities in writing to the Contracting Authority identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this notice.

The Statement of Capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

The closing date and time for accepting Statements of Capabilities is: Monday July 5, 2021 at 12:00 P.M. (EDT, Ottawa time). Inquiries and Statements of Capabilities are to be delivered via email to:

Email: rhonda.dimarco@agr.gc.ca

Requisition Number: ACAN no. 01B68-21-0054

Statements of Capabilities must be sent on or before the closing date. Statement of Capabilities received on or before the closing date will be considered solely for the purpose of deciding whether or not to conduct a more extensive tendering process. Information provided will be used by the Crown for technical evaluation purposes only with respect to a decision to proceed to a further competitive process. Suppliers that have submitted a Statement of Capabilities will be notified in writing of AAFC's decision to proceed to award the contract without a further additional tendering process.

Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the Contracting Officer identified above stating the AAFC Solicitation Number (01B68-21-0054) and the closing date of the ACAN.

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement. Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.